the cold never bothered me anyway [private]

The chilly winter air whipped hard at Taylor's face the moment she opened the cab door. Her white boots dug deep in the freshly fallen snow. A sigh escaped her partly open lips, out of relief or contentment, no one could really tell. Taylor herself didn't know what to feel, and she was still a little out of it when a rough male voice called her back.

"Are ya sure yar stopping here, missy? Ain't nothing on top of that hill."

Jeez, I know what I'm doing, Mister, was what Taylor thought, but she put on a smile and said, "I'm sure. Thank you."

She didn't even look back as the cab sped off, her attention now on the snow-capped hill. A few months ago, she didn't stop to look back. She just raced down, her bag in tow, her eyes set forward. No goodbyes, no nothing. Taylor vowed never to give it a second glance. She didn't want to.

And look at you breaking your own promises, chirped a voice at the back of her mind. Typical.

Taylor sighed as she started the lone trudge up the hill. In a few moments she would see it. She would see everything she turned her back on, staring at her and being like 'oh hey, I thought you didn't need me anymore.' She didn't, not really. She just wanted to be here for a short while. She wanted to spend the holidays with some company, not in an empty mansion that probably housed the ghost of her dead father. The father that I don't even remember that well...

But she cast that thought off, along with the many others that took hold in the past few months. She had to get rid of all the negativity. Her memories were gone, and scornful thoughts about them weren't going to bring them back. It was time to move on. Time to grow up.

Her lips tugged in the faintest hint of a smile as she stood there on top of Half Blood Hill. Finally.

She saw the dragon Peleus sleeping in a bed of snow, the Golden Fleece shimmering brightly behind it. She saw the Big House in the distance, its roof now snowy white, and for a moment she wondered if Chiron knew about her absence, or if he even cared. With so many campers around, how the hell could the old centaur keep track?

Shaking her head slightly, Taylor shrugged off her winter jacket. She didn't need it now. Campers didn't need to ask why she was not wearing a jacket in this season. They knew before she could say a word, they could tell that she was a daughter of Khione.

Daughter of Khione, she thought in a mixture of amusement and disdain. But, like all others, she shrugged it off.

Taylor swung her jacket on her back and faced it all. Realizing that she was alone, she gave a derisive snort. "Welcome back, Taylor."

"I don't know, Popsicle. I wouldn't be welcoming you back anytime soon."

Of course. Of freaking course. Taylor's jacket swished as she whipped around, one eyebrow arched and her lips mashed together - looking like they were fighting off a smile.

"Really? Natural habitat? You make it sound like I'm a penguin." Taylor couldn't help but snort. "Well, nice seeing you again, Rana."

Rana Jackson, the daughter of Eris. For days (or weeks or months - hard to tell) they had been locked up in an almost airtight underground maze with another demigod - a son of Hades. Until now, Taylor was uncertain as to where they stood. She was sure as hell that Rana didn't count her as a friend. Fate pushed them together and they had to work together to survive, but that's it. Nothing but the work of nature and quite possibly instinct. If the threat of death didn't hang over their heads, Taylor would bet that they wouldn't have done the things they did.

Through it all, the sight of Rana here in camp still brought Taylor a slight sense of confusion. It was unnerving to see her under the fading sunlight, with no dim torches and smoking twigs. It was unnerving to see her not as a forced ally, but a normal-looking girl caught up in the familiar tangle of demigod lives.

Taylor gave her a once over, her eyes lingering a second longer on the stick clipped between her lips.

A faint memory surfaced, one that involved a fallen cigarette and a satisfying stomp on Taylor's part. The cheeky grin she had been trying so hard to fight now spread across her face.

"You haven't changed much, I see."

Then she made a sudden motion - in one second she had taken a step towards Rana, her hand made as if to grab her cigarette. But Taylor only groped the air a mere half-inch from it, her fingers not even touching the thing. It was the kind of move that would startle anyone, or at least make them blink in surprise. But this time, as Taylor let her hand fall, Rana's cigarette was still safely tucked between her lips.

"I'm surprised you're still alive," she said, smirking. "No signs of lung cancer yet?"

The comment about her snorting habits had Taylor rolling her eyes, which actually was another habit she imagined Rana would pick on. These symptoms multiplied whenever the daughter of Eris was around. There was just something about her that Taylor couldn't place - perhaps it was the sarcasm, or the aloof way she held herself, or the words she uttered that made her want to facepalm.

Another memory wandered back to her. All hail the mighty stick.

Taylor bit her lip to prevent the snort that was about to come, and returned to the present where she was being christened with another one of those stupid nicknames. "Not like it would stop you saying it if I said no. Call me whatever - see if I care."

Huh, she might actually start calling me 'whatever' now just for the heck of it...

Taylor sank deeper into her thoughts, studying Rana as she had been studying her. It was still a little disarming to see her aboveground, but she ought to get used to it. Hell, she should be thankful that they were finally out of the damn labyrinth. They all survived, at least. Now they can get on with their petty little lives like the rest of the world.

Taylor couldn't help the guffaw that came out once Rana stepped back, and she could've sworn that the corner of her lips tugged upward in the smallest of smiles.

"Pfft, you? Smoke in moderation? Doubt it."

Back in the labyrinth, she pretty much snatched the thing and stomped the fire out but now... well, it wasn't like they were in a closed area anymore. Rana could smoke all she wanted, not that Taylor approved, but she decided to let the girl go on with her business. It wasn't her life, and Taylor sure as hell wasn't Rana's mother.

The sudden question took her aback though. She didn't expect Rana to ask about her whereabouts in the last month. Hell, she didn't even expect her to realize that she was gone. After the whole labyrinth ordeal they pretty much went back to, well, sort-of-strangers? They simply went on their own ways. Taylor hadn't really talked to either Rana or Alec since the whole thing.

Anyways, now that Rana asked, Taylor found herself pursing her lips as she groped for words. "The outside world, where else?" She pulled on the strap of her bag, hiking it higher on her back for emphasis. As if that wasn't obvious enough. "Can't stay in camp forever. I'm surprised Chiron hasn't kicked me out yet, actually... oh well. Not that I'm complaining." She paused, throwing a rueful look at the snowy landscape. "Besides, I'm not staying long. I have a job and a life to get back to."

Maybe it was obvious in the way she spoke or the way she chose her words, but Taylor had matured. If it was because of the labyrinth or the apocalypse, or even her amnesia - she didn't know. She woke up one morning remembering her old address and it was at that point that she realized, she had to leave camp. In one way or another, she had to face the reality outside.

Not that camp wasn't reality. But Camp Half Blood wasn't a permanent home. It was a place to train for what would come after you finally left. And for Taylor, she knew that it had been her time to leave.

She turned back to Rana. "Well, what did I miss?"

Taylor ignored the nickname comment. She didn't care too much about it really. Perhaps the time she spent with Rana in the Labyrinth made her get used to everything Rana-ish. Like the nickname-giving. The snorting. The smoking - well, she tolerated it now, because it was pointless to get her to stop. She just got used to it all. Not that the daughter of Eris grew on her or anything. Pfft.

"Whatever you say, Midnight," she almost sang, even smirking a little, because if there was one thing she was 100% sure about Rana it would be the fact that she did not smoke in moderation. Not now, not ever.

What kind of name is Midnight, anyway? she thought shrewdly. That's like naming a kid Morning... or Noon... Huh, maybe that's what her siblings are called, if she has any...

It was then that she realized that she really didn't know a lot about Rana. The girl was obviously an open book - snort, not. Taylor's knowledge was limited to her experience with said person in the Labyrinth. She didn't have a single clue about her past, if she had any family outside camp, nothing at all.

But then again, I could say the same for myself.

She dismissed the thought quickly, putting it in an airtight jar and locking it in her mind's deepest chambers.

Then she snorted (again), because the next thing she said was just too funny. "Me, stuck in a hellhound's stomach? You wish." The smirk grew a little wider. "Yes, I do have a life, surprise surprise. Maybe you should get one sometime."

Her eyes lit up at the mention of Winterfest, and she almost missed the rest of it. She hoped she missed the rest of it. Ugh, zombies. She cringed. "I was in the Treetop Village, having the time of my life. Not." She hesitated, and continued in the most uncaring and snarkiest tone she could manage, "Glad to see they didn't get you then - well, not that glad, but yeah. The world doesn't need any more Ranas."

She flipped her auburn bangs back and looked off to the landscape. She could see the lake from here, small little dots racing on top of it. Unless people suddenly developed the ability to walk on water, Taylor would bet that it was part of the Winterfest. She made a good decision then, coming back. Imagine spending the holidays inside silent walls, musing to yourself as you sip on hot chocolate. How sad it would have been.

"And I wouldn't call it ridiculous," Taylor said with another eyeroll. "Just goes to show that you lack any sense of fun whatsoever."